Buffalo Bills to Build New Stadium: What's the Timeline and What can Happen?
So the good news is that the Buffalo Bills are planning this new outdoor stadium with all the bells and whistles.
The bad? Their fans may need to travel considerable distances to see them play home games during part of the construction of the new building, which like Highmark Stadium also will be in Orchard Park.
Here are the general details, which all are subject to change, as presented by News 8 WROC:
The new stadium could be ready by as early as 2025, but a later completion is more likely because of government approval and funding that has to be secured before any construction.
The Bills' lease at Highmark Stadium expires after next season, which could leave the team without a local home until it can move into its new digs if an extension can't be worked out.
If there is no extension, the Bills are considering Toronto and Penn State's Beaver Stadium as alternate sites.
The Bills have a strong connection with Penn State. Bills co-owner Terry Pegula is a 1973 graduate. He and his wife Kim have donated more than $100 million to launch Penn State's men and women's Division I ice hockey programs and build their namesake arena on campus.
Beaver Stadium is 185 miles from Orchard Park, however, and driving there usually takes more than three-and-a-half hours from Orchard Park.
Toronto, site of the Rogers Centre and BMO Field, is a shorter drive at around 120 miles, but would come with the complication for thousands of fans of having to cross the border into Canada each week.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro.
